This is a blog by a Memphian who wants to share his unique perspective, along with some interesting facts & information, about cycling in & around the city of Memphis.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Memphis area residents could see improved health and fitness benefits through cycling

Memphis area
residents could see improved health and fitness benefits through cycling
By: Michael Lander

Cycling offers Memphians a chance to peddle their way to improved heath, fitness, and a better quality of life.

Many cyclists ride along the Shelby Farms Greenline,especially when it is sunny with mild temperatures.
The Greenline offers a scenic trails that is one of the more recent amenities in Memphis that could help area residents peddle their way to health and fitness.

With the recent addition of bike lanes and places to ride in
and around the city of Memphis, many area residents may also discover some of
the many benefits associated with cycling.

There are many reasons why people decide to take up cycling. It could be for exercise, health, recreation,
or as a means of inexpensive and environmentally-friendly transportation. While cyclists have their own reasons why
they ride, a 2003
Omnibus Survey conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found
that, of the 20.9 million people who ride bikes, 41 percent reported doing so for
exercise and health.

Jerry Travers, in an Adultbicycling.com
article, identified some of the health benefits associated with cycling. These benefits he said include building
strength and muscle tone, improving cardio-vascular fitness, burning calories,
improving heart health, and reducing stress.

"Cycling is also a good way to begin an exercise regimen," said Tyler
Farney, a University of Memphis Research Associate and certified strength and
conditioning specialist. "Most
people can get a good work-out on a bike without necessarily starting off in
great shape."

Those who do cycle, he said, "need to do it at a sufficient intensity
level to get the full benefit out of it though." Unlike running, cycling also
offers minimal impact on a person's joints, Farney said.

For many Memphis area residents, cycling might really be something worth
considering. For a city that has earned a
reputation for its tasty, fried southern cuisine and its world-renowned barbecue,
Memphis has also distinguished itself in a far less savory way.

In 2007, Forbes
Magazine ranked Memphis as the most sedentary and obese city in the
country. This ranking by Forbes was
based on information that it had received from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The Centers for Disease Control determined,
from data collected in 2006, that 32 percent of the nation was obese and that
Memphis came in at the highest with 34 percent.
A 2009
risk behavior study by the CDC also indicated that 17 percent of Memphis
high school students were clinically obese as well.

Recognizing the epidemic of childhood obesity throughout the country, first lady
Michelle Obama initiated her "Let's
Move" campaign. There are
several blogs on the campaign's website that endorse and promote cycling with
special emphasis on encouraging children to become more active. To address this issue locally, the Healthy Memphis Common Table and the Memphis Church Health Center have
both developed their own initiatives and programs to help local area residents
combat obesity.

Cycling, along with other similar cardiovascular activities, can help with
weight loss and in the prevention of diseases associated with a sedentary
lifestyle, inactivity, and excess weight.
Being overweight may be a leading contributing factors "to the increased
chances for developing Type 2 diabetes, strokes, coronary disease, and cancer,"
Farney said.

Some additional benefits from cycling might extend beyond the body to the mind
as well. Dr. Dennis Stokes, Chief of
Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and a Children's
Lung Disease Specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, said that
"there is good evidence of dementia prevention benefits of regular
exercise."

Stokes, who is an avid
cyclist himself, also cited a May 2003 Annual
Review of Public Health that said that physical activity may contribute to
the prevention of cognitive decline, delaying the onset of dementia, and may
slow down the course of Alzheimer's disease.
Research conducted by
Washington University in St. Louis also found a possible correlation
between physical inactivity and the development of dementia and Alzheimer's
disease in individuals who carry a specific variant gene.

Along with the potential health benefits of a physical activity such as
cycling, there are also some inherent risks associated with it as well. Even though there is always a possibility of
someone experiencing a heart attack or a stroke while cycling, Farney said,
there are usually underlying factors that often only surface when someone
physically exerts themselves.

To help minimize or prevent this from occurring, Stokes recommends that anyone
interested in cycling should get a physical exam, get their blood pressure checked,
and start off slowly when they first take up cycling.

There is a saying that knowledge is power and this is also true when it comes
to cycling. Beginning cyclists can avoid
many health-related troubles and other problems by learning as much as they can
about cycling before they even hit the road.

There are numerous websites, like the League
of American Bicyclists, where beginning cyclists can go to find useful
information on cycling. There are also
books that beginning cyclists might find very useful, such as the Bicycling
Magazine's Complete Book on Road Cycling Skills: Your Guide to Riding Faster, Stronger, Longer,
and Safer.

In addition to the many books, magazines, and websites geared toward cyclists, there
are also several local area bicycle clubs, like the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club,
that beginning cyclists can turn to in order to learn more about cycling. Memphis Hightailers Club President, Stephen
Watson, said that the club "often provides training on how to ride, along
with proper riding techniques, for beginning cyclists." The club also organizes rides where riders
can meet, ride, and learn from one another.

"There are also some added health and mental benefits of cycling,"
Watson said, and it has helped him feel better and it can really be an incentive
for others to do the same.

3 comments:

Michael, I really hope that Memphis continues to support this renewed interest in cycling. It is great to see so many people take up the sport. I hear that there many members of an organization of cyclists and that is important, too. Good for you for making us aware of the many benefits personally and as a city of getting out there and riding a bike.

Great info on the benefits of riding! I never really even thought about cycling until we moved to Ohio, where cycling is a very big deal!! I look forward to dusting off our bikes now that the kids are getting older. It is definitely a family activity I want to incorporate into our lives. =)

About Me

I am a long-time resident of Memphis, Tennessee. I had a long active duty military career and I am now a student at the University of Memphis. I am married to a native Memphian who is a retired Memphis City School teacher. When I am not busy, or in school, you will likely find me out riding my bike or jogging around my East Memphis neighborhood. If you would like to learn more of my passion for cycling, you can follow me on twitter at - https://twitter.com/memphiscyclist, or you can check out my cycling website - http://memphiscyclist.com. If you have any questions or comments about my blogs, my website or about Memphis cycling, please feel free to contact me at mikel5061@yahoo.com.